Tag: budget shortfalls

Why total spending has gone up as budgets are cut

OK Policy has spent a lot of time focusing on the real and continuing damage caused by repeated state budget cuts over the past three years, as well as the fact that state tax collections are at historic lows. Meanwhile,… Read more [More...]

Still stuck in a hole: Funding for public education falls flat

The FY 2013 budget negotiated  by legislative leaders and Governor Fallin had some encouraging aspects. Overall appropriations increased by $253 million, or 3.8 percent, and there was additional funding for targeted priorities in human services, health care, transportation and public… Read more [More...]

Graph of the Day: State support for schools has fallen while enrollment rises

NOTE: This post has been updated to reflect slightly revised numbers in state aid funding for FY 2008 and FY 2012. The text has been corrected to correspond. The FY 2013 budget agreement announced yesterday provides no increase in state… Read more [More...]

(Oklahoma Economic Report) Natural Gas: Beneath the surface

This article appeared in the April 2012 edition of the Oklahoma Economic Report, a publication of the Office of State Treasurer Ken Miller. It is reprinted here in its entirety with permission. It seems that each day brings another story… Read more [More...]

The buck stops anywhere but here

Last week I participated in a StateImpact Oklahoma forum on the state budget with Rep. Earl Sears, the Chair of the House Appropriations and Budget Committee (R-Bartlesville),  and Sen. Tom Adelson (D-Tulsa).  An audience member asked the legislators what they… Read more [More...]

Growing disconnect between budget politics and reality

Last week we reported that next year’s revenues are expected to be 7 percent below their levels of six years ago (FY ’07), even though costs are higher due to inflation, population growth, and increased caseloads Elsewhere, people seem to… Read more [More...]

Cutting the income tax is the wrong priority for Oklahoma

While some state leaders continue to discuss making top-down cuts to the income tax or eliminating it entirely, a new OK Policy issue brief shows why that policy is ill-advised. Before the economic downturn, the income tax brought in more… Read more [More...]

Good times don't last forever

Last week, Gov. Fallin announced a plan to fix the state’s decaying bridges by 2019. The proposal involves putting more money in the ROADS fund, which receives a portion of income tax revenues that would otherwise go to the state’s… Read more [More...]

'Flip It To Fix It' report offers an immediate, fair solution to state budget shortfalls

A study released today finds that inverting state tax structures—whereby the highest income earners would be taxed at the current percentage of income for the lowest income earners, and vice versa—would raise more than $4 billion in new revenue for… Read more [More...]

Budget cuts are a choice

In a recent article on state budget negotiations, House Speaker Kris Steele said he and other state leaders are “doing our best to minimize the cuts” to core agencies. He contrasted the treatment of core agencies to the larger cuts… Read more [More...]